Music: Organ

The Clarence H. Geist Memorial Organ

• M. P. Möller, Inc. Opus 6800 – 1939
• J. Fred Ade, Inc. – Schultz & Associates, Inc – 1980
• Reuter Organ Co – Walker Technical Co. – 2000
• 99 total stops, 78 ranks (58 pipe, 20 digital), 3,777 pipes

The Clarence H. Geist Memorial Organ was built in 1939 by the M.P. Moller Company, Inc. of Hagerstown, Maryland, under the supervision of Richard Whitelegg. It was installed as part of the church’s Fiftieth Anniversary celebration, and dedicated by Virgil Fox on January 17, 1940. Its original specifications and console design were drawn up by Henry Beard, the Organist of Overbrook Presbyterian Church. At its installation and finishing, it contained 53 ranks of 3,357 pipes.

On July 4, 1978, the organ suffered extensive damage in two chambers due to a vandalism attack. J. Fred Ade, Inc., of Drexel Hill and Schultz & Associates, of Philadelphia, were contracted to restore, rebuild, and tonally modify the organ. A series of three Rededication Recitals, performed by former Overbrook Organists John Tuttle and William Evans, and present Organist Dennis Elwell, were presented in November 1980.

In 2000, the Reuter Organ Company, of Lawrence, Kansas, installed a new organ console, which additionally accommodates a new Antiphonal Digital Organ, built by the Walker Technical Company of Zionsville, Pennsylvania. A Rededication Recital was performed by Dennis Elwell in March 2001.

Organ Specifications

To download and read a PDF of The Clarence H. Geist Memorial Organ, click here.